Harpy Egg
A Harpy Egg is the offspring of any Harpy. Harpies reproduce asexually (due to the fact that there are no male species) and as such are born with their eggs. They can lay anywhere between 10,000 to 15,000 eggs in one lifetime (usually fifty at a time), however on average under 1% of the eggs will live beyond their first birthday. The eggs are constantly eaten, stolen and destroyed by different means. Creatures such as wolves, Katobleps and sometimes Centaurs and satyrs eat the eggs for they are easy to get to and are high in energy. Harpy eggs are also eaten by demigods and demititans when they are on quests. They are also destroyed by Nymphs (specificaly Dryads) because the Harpies lay their eggs in the Nymph's trees without permission. Appearance A Harpy Eggs appearance resembles similar characteristics to the common Human Chicken Egg, except for the noticable difference in size. A Harpy Egg is approximatly five times as big as a Chicken Egg, thus also resembling similar characteristics to an Ostrich Egg. Defence Some of the smarter species of Harpy developed and evolved a toxic spray inside their nostrils which when sprayed along the outskirts of their nests firstly scrambles the smell the eggs give off (which attracts unwanted predators) and secondly kills any living creature that inhales its toxic chemicals. This poison has been known to kill hundreds of Humans, Centaurs, demigods etc, ervery year. In response to this, the former leader of Lake Ohio Camp For Gifted Demigods, Chiron (a Centaur himself), created a way of detecting whether the poison was present called 'Atropine Assurance'. He ordered this specialised technique to be taught to all demigods staying at the camp in their Herbology lessons. Atropine Assurance Atropine Assurance is the technique used to detect whether a Harpy nest has been infected with Aconite poisoning. The technique was first developed by Chiron, Centaur and former leader of Lake Ohio, in an attempt to assure the safety of his students when they were out on quests and required to eat a Harpy Egg. Some advanced species of Harpy developed and evolved a toxic poison (Aconite) to spray their nests with to prevent any predators from eating them. It was fatal to all most every living thing that inhaled its toxic chemicals and caused the deaths of many demigods. This is what caused the inspiration for Chiron to find a way of detecting whether a nest was infected with the Aconite poisoning or not, e.g is it safe to touch or not. The technique consisted of dropping at least 10mg of Atropine (a tropane Alkaloid liquid) on to the edge of the nest. If the clear Atropine liquid turns a dark blue then Aconite poisoning is present and the Harpy Eggs inside of the nest are unsafe to eat, but if the Atropine stays clear and transparent then there is no sign of Aconite poisoning and the eggs are safe to eat. The technique itself is tricky to carry out because it must be done whilst the user covers their mouth and nose to prevent inhaling any of the toxic chemicals.